It’s an interesting time to be in the UK, where the Mother of All Parliaments, the House of Commons, has been roiled by infighting and discouraging economic news.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer ignited a firestorm of protest last week: see Chancellor Alistair Darling warns slump could be the worst for 60 years, precipitating a slump in the Pound Sterling and a furious debate over whether he acted irresponsibly or not. In many ways the entire thing -including debating whether government ministers ought to be blunt or Pollyanna-like in their official statements, the reliability or unreliability of official statistics, the question of whether the chief executive should take the fall to prevent the decimation of the party- sounds eerily familiar and because of that, oddly comforting.
The Brits are working through issues not very different from our own and it seems to be there isn’t all that much of a difference between the way British and Filipino politicians are trying to do damage control: orare ignoring public opinion altogether while politicizing previously relatively partisan-free civil service institutions.
The Times in a recent editorial (which came at the heels of the paper’s report that a sacking was in the offing), The twilight of Sir Ian Blair, looked at the controversial head of Scotland Yard and took him to task in all-too-familiar (for Filipinos) terms:
His responses are by now well practised. He believes that near-constant pressure to quit is an occupational hazard to be shrugged off if not actually ignored. And he believes mutinous disloyalty from senior colleagues is an inevitable result of radical reforms of which he is fiercely proud.
The trouble for Sir Ian is that his reforms have not made him indispensable. Nor can he be sanguine any longer about the calls for him to go. His support from the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office has crumbled: his contract will not be renewed in 2010. This makes him a lame duck not only in the view of his many critics, but in fact. If his record were spectacular, this newspaper would back his bid to stay in office until the 2012 Olympics and beyond. Unfortunately, it is not.
What sets the British media apart from our own is the deeper sense of memory, whether institutional, national, and personal, that the media, the politicians, and commentators have. For example, Libby Purves in Why did Alistair Darling choose 1948? points out a fascinating detail, concerning 1948 as a watershed year for Britain despite postwar austerity:
The disreputable anomaly of plural voting was abolished – previously university graduates could vote in two places, and business owners had an extra vote at their place of work.
The odd thing of course being that there are frustrated middle and upper class Filipinos who continue to think plural voting might be a good thing.
The business and finance media, too, write clearly and informatively, something hardly ever seen at home. The Business Editor of The Times pens an analysis: This slowdown has a long way to go yet — so just look forward to the sales. And there are short, but richly informative reports that contextualize the economic news. An article Is the party over for pubs? points out British pubs are closing at the rate of four per day and also ties in the various economic trends (crashing property prices, increasing food and labor costs, etc.) into the uncertain future of a British institution.
In Britain 2028: we need ten new cities, please, Camilla Cavendish looks at the immigration policies of the UK, something that ought to be of interest to Filipinos living and working here.
Just today, Gordon Brown to increase Holyrood’s tax powers focuses on the great Labour project of restoring the Scottish Parliament and increasing its powers over taxation and budgeting: again, this ia a debate erupting in Britain which should be interesting to proponents of Federalism.
Update: Only Blair could save Labour now provides an insight into how more “mature” democracies factor surveys into the political situation, and how past and present leaders can add and detract from their party’s future prospects.
A great pleasure is reading the obituaries published in the British papers. See K.K. Birla: industrial tycoon and philanthropist.
Blackshama : Federalism scares the English. If that happens then England will have its own Parliament.
Excellent! We know what the English feels. Now, when will we know anything about Filipinos? Who cares if Mindanao will have one or more parliaments!
“p.i. is the official designation of the philippines in the international community.. if you believe otherwise, ”
NEVER seen that actually, I thought that was just Fil-Am short hand.
Otherwise, it’s either RP or Philippines not P.I.
“Your argument is typically liberal in style. Would easily call all other liars, and would self-promote yourself as the only fountain where light and truth freely flow in reckless abundance.”
“Here is the link, from liberal website that says Hillary won the popular votes in the primaries. Your interpretation of obama withdrawing from Florida and Michigan and therefore those two states do not count is simply misleading.” This is a perfect example of a frame of mind that is truly representative of a wrecked culture.
Most Pinoys are not used to the fact that political parties count in the poltical process. The DNC and the RNC represent the two major political parties in the U.S. That means they have the power and authority to impose party rules . The N stands for national.
When two state committees went their own way. They were sanctioned. In the Philippines or amongst pinoy organizations they would have broken away and started their own party. Walang ganyan sa Istates amongst a more evolved political culture.
Both major parties in the Staes have ideological differences. Within the party themselves there are different shades of that ideology. In the Pinas there is one major ideology – Monism. Money politics.
Now comounding one lie with another lie by saying that Obama withdrew from both the Michigan and Florida primaries is a diservice to ignorance and stupidty.
The whole issue of the fight concerning Florioda and Michigan was an issue about imposing party discipline…..You do not follow the rules your electoral exercise is null and void. I wonder if the proponent of this canard is from Maguindanao.
Oh yeah, the ideological difference is between conservative and progressives. Status quo and change.
McCain and Palin are running on the surface on a platform that runs contrary to their party principles.
The lawyer pundit should be happy since his canard puts him in good company relative to what he was railing about. Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are broadcast on CNN. Ann Telnaes is a Pulitzer prize winner who regularly contributes to the Washington Post. George Will, Charles Krauthammer and occassionally Francis Fukuyama (Who are well known conservative thought leaders also contributors to the Post. Jon Stetwart’s and Colbert’s reports on the DNC were also hilarious. Colbert was even responsible for giving Republican Hukabee the famous bump. By appearing with Colbert the guy a Republican got more popular.
Picking up words from media to use without understanding what they mean makes one simply a still evolving simmian. In plain English – monkey see monkey do.
Please note that the only real political party in the Pinas with an ideology are the leftist parties. The rest are simply entrepreneurs.
Remember this is a forum where personalties do not clash but the thought or thoughts one writes down.
That is why it is easy sometimes to pick out the members of the flat earth society.
Creationism versus evolution…..
Status quo versus change….
The right versus the left
OOOOOOpppppssss I forgot and the sapce in between the two…..
obama did not campaign from Michigan and Florida and the votes from these States do not count – but your pro-liberal blogsite says they count and accordingly concluded that hillary won the popular votes of the primary.
whatever you you say about colbert and stewart, these two mouthed pro-liberal bias. if you consider them non-pollutant pundits you are free to believe that they are really objective political pundits like you who would not hear contrary views aside from the normal garbage spewed by the mainstream media.
but the line is clear to me. those who disagree with you were monkeys and those that do descend from the genes of Enstein and Galileo. 🙂
CNN, Washington Post – these are mainstream media with known liberal bias, and so are some of the “illustrious” columnists thereat. But I will not call these columnists monkeys neither I will call you one. It just so happened that we have different take on the matter. The difference is I accept my conservative bias while you continue to hide your “liberal bias” under the guise of objective punditry.– 🙂
How to deal with a Know it All:
Try not to become emotionally involved during your interactions with such people. Most Know-It-Alls feed off conflict. Therefore, a good way to derail them is to remain neutral throughout your conversation.
Adopt a laissez-faire attitude towards winning. Most Know-It-Alls gain their satisfaction from winning arguments. Such comments as “Whatever you say,” or “You’re right,” will usually stop these annoying people in their tracks.
Keep your humor. One of the best weapons against difficult people is a good sense of humor. The next time a Know-It-All butts into your conversation, simply go along with them and have a good laugh at your expense. Once they realize that you won’t be goaded into an argument, they’ll promptly give up.
Ask them to cite their sources. Many times a Know-It-All will mask fact with fiction in order to make their opinions seem reasonable. Asking for references will give you a strong foothold on the validity of their claims.
Know your topic. If the Know-It-All is out to sabotage you, immerse yourself in the topic of debate. Be sure to have references to go along with your facts
Avoid the Know-It-All at all costs. Sometimes the best way to deal with difficult people is to avoid them. Take the long way back to your desk, ignore their attempts at attention or simply say that you are too busy and cannot talk with them. Hopefully, they’ll take the hint and go bother someone else.
What does it mean to be “LIBERAL” in the US American definition ba?
btw, the monkeys are in washington for 28 years while the einstens and the galileos are still drolling to capture the White House… 🙂
to Mr Obama:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG4fe9GlWS8
leytenian,
ako makikinig ako ke Nash di kita babanatan ng hyperlink.
going to your semi-oiginal views.
You said:The republican are cutting the budgets per state and Obama’s proposal would be federal.
I say: Ano daw?
You said:You only understand the fact, but not the consequence.
I say: ano ito,Truth or Consequence? sa Tate nga pala Truth or Dare, baka di mo na naalala ang party game na binanggit ko.
final word:
Ikaw, naintindihan mo ba ang mga pinagsasabi mo?
if you ask bill o’reilly, liberal refers to the democratic party, the conservative the republican party. liberal has a local meaning in the U.S. Those that are “pro-choice” (euphemism for abortion ) are commonly referred to as the liberals, the anti-abotion is the conservative republican, but some personalities cross-lines. there are some liberals who do not believe in abortion in the same way that some republicans believe in abortion. i think guiliani is a republican who believes in “pro-choice, aka, abortion.
liberals are anti-war, conservatives are sometimes referred to as hawkish, those that believe that US can go to war to protect her imperial interest.
most hollywood personalities are referred to as liberals, or sometimes “far left”. those who accused CIA-Bush as the enemies of freedom. The conservative look at US interventionist position in the middle east as protecting those freedom from islam extremists.
the coin has two sides always… just like the liberals and the conservatives in U.S. politics. As to which one has the high moral ground to lead the country is a question of democratic process, or who the electorate will empower this November. But quite frankly, I do not give a damn whether it is the liberals or the conservatives who take the White House. I take my politics lightly and will not kill anyone or insinuate that one is a monkey because he happens to disagree with me. 🙂
jcc,
“I take my politics lightly and will not kill anyone or insinuate that one is a monkey because he happens to disagree with me. ”
agree but unfortunately… many bloggers cannot accept being challenged. they are “the know it-all. if they lose, they will intimidate by name calling.
do you know what happen to rickycarandang’s blog? i can’t open it.
me too, it says it is parked! ! ! or under renovation…
‘i think guiliani is a republican who believes in “pro-choice, aka, abortion.’
Because Giuliani was originally a Democrat.
leytenian,
atleast hvrds is no longer blabbering martian language . 🙂 🙂
Yup one is a Democrat (liberal) if one believes that a zygote is not a human being.
While one is a Republican (conservative) if one believes that the zygote is a human being with full legal human rights.
The Chinese count the time one is carried in the womb in counting ones number of years .
Would that make the Chinese mostly Republican?
The Hindu and Budhist say that we never die we are reborn.
I rest my case. The lunatics are religious nuts who do believe in creationism.
side-topic: There is a lesson to be learned from tennis. God-given talent is not enough — personal excellence demands work, work, and then work. And one may have to leave one’s country in order to get the required coaching and other opportunities to get closer to personal greatness as evidenced by Jankovic, Djokovic, Murray, and that Japanese teen-ager.
another evidence — Lea Salonga.
arnel pineda…
UPN
sa swimming naman Fi-am yung pinasok natin(olympics) pero wala pa sa kalingkingan ni Phelps, me Fil-am tayo na babae pero di natin sigurado kung mapalaro natin para sa pinas dahil twice na sya naglaro for US,sayang silver medal na sana(gold pa yata).
May I ask if UP n student has anything to do with the University of the Philippines?
going back to Tennis,that 14 grandslams by Sampras is still close yet too far for Federer,seing how Murray destroyed Nadal.Murray is just 21 if I am not mistaken.
Leytenian,
can you compare Steve Perry and Arnel Pineda?
siguro nadinig mo na Journey nung si Steve Perry pa.
tennis,
sports people say it is not in the funding, pero kung it is not in the funding,bakit wala man lang tayo pina patrain na tennis player abroad. Nung panahon ni Dianne Castillejos at Felix Barrientos,sariling pera pa ang ginamit.
let us forget basketbal,
sa soccer yung below fifteen lang natin ang magaling,pag college na sila wala na silang interes sa soccer kaya mahina ang natitira sa rp team.kahit sea games bokya.
dito sa tingin ko kaya natin makipag sabayan sa mga europeans,unless soccer or football is now a giant man’s game.
I have read that Ramops has a program, the program was a brainchild of Popoy Juico.Juico is still around maybe he can revive the program.
maybe manolo’s long view entry will be the next blog’s title:
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20080908-159291/Learning-to-play-politics-Christian-style
Learning to play politics, Christian-style
@jcc
ok. disingenuous nga mga tao diyan to say pro-choice is automatically pro-abortion.
parang cbcp who said the reproductive health bill is meant to legalise abortion eh hindi naman.
in any case, usa and the middle east are the only ones who use ‘liberal’ as an insult.
the irony is that if republicans are hawkish and interventionist and wanting to promote democracy (kuno), the intent (promoting freedom ek-ek) is a very ‘liberal’ value.
oh well, this is what one must keep in mind when talking to a usamerican because both parties – democrats and republicans are hardly considered ‘liberal’ by euro standards
Using “P.I.” is an anachronism, like referring to Hawaii as the Sandwich Islands or Thailand as Siam. We are RP, if you absolutely have to use an acronym. We began the process of dropping PI with the adoption of the 1935 Constitution.
“most hollywood personalities are referred to as liberals, or sometimes “far leftâ€Â. those who accused CIA-Bush as the enemies of freedom. The conservative look at US interventionist position in the middle east as protecting those freedom from islam extremists.”
They are members of the Film Actors Guild or FAG.
In my neck of the woods, liberals are seen as the anti everything, tree hugging hippies. They are for socialism and wealth redistribution. The kind of people who complained that kids in school shouldn’t be allowed to play tag because kids who run slower will have their feelings hurt therby damaging their self esteem. These people actually take “world citizenship” seriously and look at the UN higher than what it really is. The kind of people who believe there’s no such thing as a bad dude because all they need is a hug. One good thing about America is that she is free to have all types of characters running about.
“read, digest, DISTILL, share. let’s continue with the semi-original punditry hokey.” – Nash
Spot on. Some commenters should disabuse themselves from thinking that by visiting a site, reading, and then linking. Voila, there it is! They have a good perspective.
Again, a little information is dangerous.
KG,
When I watched Arnel in Tampa last July, I was expecting that the 20,000 audience will have pinoy majority. To my surprise, only 3% were pinoys. Maybe less . The audience were typical whites. That was what’s amazing. Arnel has proven his talent and he delivered it with high energy. Arnel was a perfect choice to rock the OLD journey band. The energy is alive. Cheap trick and Heart were on this tour too. I’m not a journey fan , to compare Steve and Arnel may not be fair.
Until now, journey songs are played constantly on the radio. It was actually played during the RNC convention. I guess Journey is alive and Arnel is a success to journey.
Up N,
Philippine sports infrastructure is not quite in place. We don’t have many training facilities around the country. Only the elites or middle class can afford, but they are not the majority.
Our children are not trained early except using cell phones for texting. Our TV entertainment is wowowee. None for sports or any programs that is actually good for the well being of the youth. We are lacking role models. This well being and social issue are the responsibility of our leaders. The role models in our country are nowhere to be found except Gloria is at TOP 42 of the Strongest Women in the World… by Forbes Magazines. lol..
to master yoda: I agree!!!! although that approach — seeing if one’s biases or initial sentiment is mirrored in two or three webpages —- is acceptable to me. “A little bit learning is a dangerous thing” is a bit better than “….basta kung ano ang sabi ng barkada ko, doon din ako!!!”
Jelena Jankovic, who almost quit (but then decided to persist), last night won three-quarters-of-a-million-US-dollars. Being good then working hard to be really good has its privileges.
US Open Prize Money for 2008
Singles (Men & Women – 128 Draws)
Winners $1,500,000
Runners-Up $750,000
Semifinalists $320,000
Quarterfinalists $160,000
Round of 16 $80,000
Third Round $46,000
Second Round $30,000
First Round $18,500
‘sa swimming naman Fi-am yung pinasok natin(olympics) pero wala pa sa kalingkingan ni Phelps’
At least that Fil-Am got better coaching than local swimmers. What is needed aside from the infrastructure is an infusion of knowledge in sports. Remember Ron Jacobs? His first all Filipino basketball team were mostly second rated college basketball players but the team still won in international competitions. Too bad he can’t coach anymore.
… but she has to pay the salaries of her trainers, and she has to pay her own airfare. 😥
“Using “P.I.†is an anachronism, like referring to Hawaii as the Sandwich Islands or Thailand as Siam. We are RP, if you absolutely have to use an acronym. We began the process of dropping PI with the adoption of the 1935 Constitution.” …..MLQ3
Yes, I hate that acronym. “PI” being said/written by Filipinos. I berated my youngest sister when I heard her saying PI in the Bay Area. We had a long discussion of that PI among my co-alums. One of the publisher/editor in USA local newspaper sided with me and he hated that”PI”. We came along way, many Filipinos died and suffered just to change PI to RP, why not use RP?
may I ask: what makes PI derogatory? pinoy died because they wanted freedom from the spaniards, japanese and americans.. not because of the silly idea that they wanted PI changed to RP. 🙂
traces of pseudo-natonalism, of being able to call RP as RP instead of P.I. and being able to berate someone because he used PI instead of using RP.
it really amuses me…. we filipinos are really something. we got a lot of problems confronting us and we are worried sick because RP is referred to as P.I. 🙂 Not an indication of the level of one’s love for country if you ask me.
jcc,
Changing PI to RP is not a silly idea. The word REPUBLIC is important. It implies sovereignty.
supremo,
you believe that we are sovereign? everyone is dictating on us, malaysia, china, u.s., IMF, World Bank, even our local Drug Lords and Jueteng Lords. 🙂 🙂
@supremo
“At least that Fil-Am got better coaching than local swimmers.”
He is actually coached by his father.
nash,
Did the father studied coaching somewhere?
jcc,
‘you believe that we are sovereign?’
That’s why I used the word ‘implies’.
@supremo
from what I have gathered (my hawaiian correspondents, naks) he is ‘unconventionally’ coached hence an unorthodox swimming style.
i guess my point is that he has the proper physique for sprint swimming but he does not have any coaching advantage over the locally trained pinoys. (but then again I do not know much about swimming..all I know is that if you are not tall, forget about it…)
incidentally, as an archipelago, we should have done well in DISTANCE swimming (which the UK and Russia dominate – paano nangyari yon eh malamig tubig nila..)
but I guess sponsors prefer to stick to the ‘popular’ sports kaya kahit walang pag-asa sige put all the money on short hobbits from la salle and ateneo to play basketball.
other countries have ‘niche’ sporting programs nurtured over the years, east bloc euros are good at throwing and jamaica has athletics…
so ang masasabi ko lang we should scour our docks for long distance swimmers and weighlifters…(mabigat naman siguro yung lata ng biscuit na sinasakay sa super ferry)
supremo, mlq 3, pilipinoparin,
Our forefathers died to secure for them and the generations to come our freedom. We squandered them by default and now we want to honor their sacrifice by fretting over one’s used of P.I. to mean RP instead of RP as RP.
We offer as a full measure of devotion to honor their sacrifice our ability to be incensed against one’s referral to RP as P.I., instead of propagating in ourselves the true ideals of freedom and democracy, and free speech which they have fought for. The right of one person to refer to P.I. as RP is a fundamental free speech right and we try to prohibit such form of speech because we want to honor our forefathers who died for it. What a ludicrous proposition ! ! !
All these acrimonious salvoes is best described by Shakespeare:
“It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothingâ€Â.
true JCC but you just have to accept that P.I. is not an official designation for RP in the international community.
The P.I. Association of Daly City is hardly ‘international’
You can continue using your P.I..wa naman pumipigil.
Sa akin lang naman, based on the history I learned, P.I was derogatory and used in a condescending manner noon and indeed anachronistic in the same manner as “Rhodesia” is.
But indeed, time moves on much the same way that “Flip” is now an acceptable term for Fil-Am.
nash,
the other famous shakespearean methapor is:
“RP by any of her name will smell as sweet”.
🙂 🙂
I find P.I. sexy.. lol.
I come from the island. So when I was younger, white men always ask me where I’m from. My answer would always be from the Philippine Island of Leyte. That island word enhances my sex appeal even more.. hahahah.
Until now, I used Philippine Island for business or personal used in the USA. I don’t say , I’m from the Republic of the Philippine or even Philippines. I will sound so corrupt, you know what I mean. lol . The island word is more marketable in my opinion.Besides, i’m truly from the island. Island means paradise. The Beach means rich. Water front means wealth. In general, it’s exotic… ok guys please do not attack me.
Where you going? Hawaii..
which Island? Maui..
you see, people want to know the specific.
Where you going? Caribbean
Which island? Virgin Islands.
If you guys want RP or whatever.. that’s your way of being proud. I am already proud of being from the island. How do we brand the name Philippines?
Republic of the Philippines is better used for political transaction.
@jcc
if i’m being pedantic it should be ‘to paraphrase shakespeare’ instead of saying “the Other shakespearean methophor IS…” because shakespeare didn’t actually say “RP by …..”
anyways, i concede…it’s semantics the same way that your definition of liberal is not my standard use of ‘liberal’
sya sya kung sweet…
except durian. i never really liked that fruit. it’s not so much the stink but the flavour.
“The right of one person to refer to P.I. as RP is a fundamental free speech right and we try to prohibit such form of speech because we want to honor our forefathers who died for it. What a ludicrous proposition ! ! !”…..jcc
So, now, jcc, it is all right with you if some one call you “Indio”.
jcc you can call the country whatever you want. but officially it has not been p.i. since 1935 and to insist on p.i. is a statement with colonial connotations.